Summer 2027 Intern - AI Research Incubator

100 Salesforce, Inc.; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 74,000 - 96,000; Full time

Job summary

Salesforce AI Research is seeking a Summer 2027 intern to help validate and shape future AI-powered products. You will design user research plans, conduct interviews, synthesize findings, and produce reports.

You’ll translate insights into recommendations for product development, collaborating with researchers, engineers, and cross-functional teams across Palo Alto and Salesforce's AI initiatives. The internship runs for a minimum of 12 weeks in Summer 2027, offering hands-on experience at the

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a graduate degree in a relevant field (HCI, Information Science, Business, Economics, Psychology)
• Experience conducting qualitative or quantitative research (interviews, surveys, experiments)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Interest in artificial intelligence and how people interact with technology

Responsibilities

• Design user research plans to validate pilots and experiments
• Conduct discovery interviews and synthesize learnings
• Produce reports of user studies and their outcomes
• Make recommendations for pilot direction and future experiments
• Establish standardized research protocols, templates, and assessment frameworks
• Collaborate with researchers, engineers, and cross-functional stakeholders to translate findings into product recommendations

Skills

Qualitative research

Quantitative research

Interviewing

Communication

Education

Graduate degree in HCI/Info Science/Business/Economics/Psychology

Tools

Excel

SQL

Python

R

Survey platforms

Job description

To get the best candidate experience, please consider applying for a maximum of 3 roles within 12 months to ensure you are not duplicating efforts. Salesforce Research advances state-of-the-art AI techniques, developing models and prototypes that pave the path for innovative products at Salesforce. We tackle real-world problems in areas such as image recognition and natural language processing from Salesforce's enterprise customers by harnessing the latest deep learning techniques. As part of our team you’ll learn unique skills, work with talented people and help us shape the future of AI in Palo Alto and our recently announced new hub, Salesforce Research Asia in Singapore!

Job Category Fixed Term & Temporary Job Details About Salesforce Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all. Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You’re in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.

What You'll Be Doing & Why It Matters

Salesforce AI Research is a global leader in Enterprise AI, driving innovations that advance the state of AI while powering enterprise products at worldwide scale. We take ideas from research to real-world impact, working closely with product teams and enterprise customers to translate cutting‑edge research into production AI capabilities used by millions of users. Learn more at Salesforce AI Research. Within AI Research, our Incubation team bridges our foundational technology and our customers' needs. We meet with customers to understand their biggest pain points, connect them to emerging technologies from our researchers' work, and validate those technologies with real users to inform our future products. We sit at the intersection of research and product innovation, combining AI research and applied AI to turn foundational innovation into real solutions for real customers. We are looking for a Summer 2027 intern to help us validate and shape what we build next.

Core Responsibilities & Scope

• Design user research plans to help validate pilots and experiments
• Conduct discovery interviews and synthesize learnings
• Produce reports of user studies and their outcome
• Make recommendations for pilot direction and future experiments
• Establish standardized research protocols, templates, and assessment frameworks for unified user evaluations
• Collaborate with researchers, engineers, and cross‑functional stakeholders to translate research findings into recommendations for product development.

Minimum Requirements

• Currently pursuing a graduate degree in a relevant field, such as Human-Computer Interaction, Information Science, Business, Economics, Psychology, or a related discipline.
• Experience conducting qualitative or quantitative research, including interviews, surveys, or experimental studies.
• Ability to analyze and synthesize research findings into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present findings to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Interest in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and understanding how people interact with technology.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience conducting user research, usability testing, or customer discovery for software or AI‑powered applications.
• Familiarity with research methods such as experimental design, A/B testing, longitudinal studies, or adoption analysis.
• Experience working with qualitative and quantitative research tools, including Excel, SQL, Python, R, or survey platforms.
• Understanding of product incubation, technology adoption, and business impact measurement.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams or conducting research in an industry setting.
• Ability to vibe‑code tools that help in the synthesis and collection of data at scale.

Internship Details

This is a Summer 2027 internship with a minimum duration of 12 weeks.

Accommodations

If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodations Request Form. Please note that Salesforce uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help our recruiters assess and evaluate candidates’ resumes and qualifications throughout the recruiting process. Humans will always make any candidate selection and hiring decisions. Please see our Candidate Privacy Statement for more information about how we use your personal data and your rights, including with regard to use of AI tools and opt out options.

Posting Statement

Salesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non‑discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that’s inclusive, and free from discrimination. Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal. Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications – without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training and education.

In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including:

• time off programs
• medical
• dental
• vision
• mental health support
• paid parental leave
• life and disability insurance
• 401(k)
• an employee stock purchasing program

More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Salesforce will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions.

The typical base salary range for this position is $54 - $70 per hour. The range represents base salary only, and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits, as applicable.

Founded in 1999, Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Companies of every size and industry are using Salesforce to transform their businesses, across sales, service, marketing, commerce, and more by connecting with customers in a whole new way.

We harness technologies that can revolutionize companies, careers, and, hopefully, our world.

Salesforce is built on a set of four core values: Trust, Customer Success, Innovation, and Equality. By making technology more accessible, we're helping create a future with greater opportunity and equality for all.

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There are those who choose to work with the best and brightest. And then, there are those who want to do more than just a job. They are the ones improving lives, not only their careers. Having an impact now instead of later. Doing something that’s so much bigger than themselves, an industry, and their company. We believe everyone can be a Trailblazer. Join Salesforce and discover a future of new opportunities.